Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

What is the MN opinion of COMPULSORY short skirts for senior school uniform????

53 replies

RTKangaMummy · 02/05/2006 20:03

My friend has a daughter about to start senior school in sept and the school uniform is short skirts and flesh coloured tights

The thing is that she is going to be teased dreadfully

She is very well built with chunky legs

{she swims and cycles in biatholons and plays football}

But although she is fit she is also in the conventunal sense fat

Do you think it is fair for schools to have uniforms with short skirts that are compulsory ie that there are not two lengths?

I am totally in agreement that school uniforms are a deffo brill idea and so does her mum

Most of the girls with skinny legs roll the skirts over to make them barely cover their underwear

They are allowed to wear trousers between NOV and FEB

What do you all think?

All the schools round here wear the same style and length skirts

.

OP posts:
starlover · 02/05/2006 20:32

also, her mum and dad and whoever need to not make too big a deal out of it. if they do then she will feel like she is right to be scared and that everyone thinks she will be bullied... self fulfilling prophecy

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 02/05/2006 20:36

SL she is a lovely girl - she is popular with the boys at primary school cos she is like a tomboy - plays football, talks about football etc.

But primary class {same as DS only has 25 pupils - only one class per year}

She has been teased outside of school for her size - but she is very fit and active

The year 7 has 180 pupils

There are about 8 from primary school going there but only 1 other girl who is her friend and so they will be in form together but split up for sets iyswim

DS is going to a different school

OP posts:
morocco · 02/05/2006 20:42

trousers only for everyone should be the way forward - none of those horrible shorts for little boys either.
I thought it was all done and dusted that mixed sex schools had to allow trousers to be worn by girls if they wanted?

starlover · 02/05/2006 20:48

oh that's a shame rtkm... i had a similar experience when i went to secondary school, split up from my only friend and it was horrible.

sorry, that's not very uplifting is it?

morocco · 02/05/2006 21:00

check out \link{http://www.eoc.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=15368\this} for more information about rights/challenges

WWWontSlagOffAnyone · 02/05/2006 21:01

I think it's mad, mad, mad. I also thought we were WAY beyond the days when girls were ordered to wear skirts and not allowed to wear trousers fgs. So I think this is highly unreasonable. Especially the short bit tbh. Haven't read the thread, will do now.

WWWontSlagOffAnyone · 02/05/2006 21:04

Has no-one ever taken on this barmy head and his/her stupid rules?

morningpaper · 02/05/2006 21:04

I would not be happy with this really

I thought school uniforms were supposed to be square

not sexy

Mini-skirts are inappropriate IMO

WWWontSlagOffAnyone · 02/05/2006 21:05

Can you imagine a rule that said women had to wear short skirts to work? There'd be uproar.

morningpaper · 02/05/2006 21:07

'zactly

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 02/05/2006 21:54

Thanks for all your help and opinions

I will tell her about her rights etc.

The headmaster might be the place to start

OP posts:
edam · 02/05/2006 21:59

Do you think the headmaster's a perve? When I was at school used to think bad things about whoever it was insisted we had to wear those stupid gym skirts that show off your PE knickers...

Seriously, sounds very odd and worrying for your friend's dd. And no trousers for girls in a mixed school is definitely Not On.

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 02/05/2006 22:03

Don't know but all the schools round here are the same

and the local catholic one too

All mixed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OP posts:
beef · 02/05/2006 22:04

sounds like bollox to me!

MrsBadger · 02/05/2006 22:07

agree with speak to headman, but for practical solution maybe buy one much too big round waist (to get longer length) and have it altered to fit?

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 02/05/2006 22:11

I think the waist/length idea is the way to go

Smile
OP posts:
Nightynight · 02/05/2006 22:41

when we lived in UK, there was a school in our town that had short kilts for the uniform. I couldnt believe it was compulsory when I first saw it. I mean it was so St Trinians! Wonder if its the same school??
Personally, Idve loved a shalwar kameez at school, to cover up my fat legs.

Tortington · 02/05/2006 22:43

nope not happy, my girl would go in in black trousers. and the head would have to talk with me directly. upon which i would tell the head it was part of my religeos belief.

and then i would go to confession and tel the priest i lied Grin

1Baby1Bump · 02/05/2006 22:46

i dont have a child of this age but i would say kids of this age i see going to school look old enough without having to wear short skirts!

arfy · 02/05/2006 22:48

oh the poor girl. i'd have been bloody mortified - I was fit, but had fat legs too - i think it's totally unfair. And flesh coloured tights - are they sadists?
And actually it seems really inappropriate to specify such a short length. There's no need for it, it's not practical in any way. How odd.

milward · 02/05/2006 23:05

Seems odd to have short skirts! Lets hope she can wear trousers or a longer skirt - she can't be the only one concerned about this.

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 02/05/2006 23:09

I am glad you all think this is mad and horrible

I was and still am fat and I would have hated it

I had to wear skirts but that was nearly 30 years ago - buy my old comp now has trousers

And as it is a kilt in specific tartan she can't just go to different shop and buy longer style iyswim

Only one skirt/kilt from one shop

OP posts:
ItalianJob · 03/05/2006 09:51

agree with the rest - girls should be allowed to wear trousers all year round.

snowleopard · 03/05/2006 09:58

I hated our school uniform (short navy skirt) so I wore a long black skirt instead. I simply insisted. Because I was good otherwise, they would have looked stupid punishing me to the point of expulsion, and I wasn't backing down, so in the end they dropped it.

I think it's her human right not to show off her legs if she doesn't want to - she should wear something long enough to make her feel comfortable, and if anyone objects, ask the head if they will insist that the boys also all reveal their legs to the same degree as the girls are expected to. If they won't act on that, it is sex discrimination and you can point out that you would win a court case.

frogs · 03/05/2006 10:21

All the Catholic secondaries round here are the opposite, ie. they insist that skirts must be below the knee (printed in bold caps in the uniform list we've just received for dd1, in case anyone was feeling rebellious). There's also a sarky little line about 'modifications to skirts are not permitted', ie rolling up the waistband. In fact the blinking things are so darned expensive that most of the parents buy them with plenty of size to spare, so the poor Y7 kids are walking around in kilts that are positively Edwardian in length. At the school that most of dd1's friends are going to they insist on white tights -- yes, not cream, not flesh coloured but white. Not a great look for a chunky 14yo, but at least most of their legs are covered by the voluminous kilts.

Couldn't your friend's dd just get a skirt that was far too large to get the extra length and then take it in at the waist?

Swipe left for the next trending thread